The fundamentally sound Spurs are still the best in the West

Most of the Western Conference’s title contenders are defined by what’s different. The Houston Rockets added Dwight Howard. The Los Angeles Clippers hired Doc Rivers and added a handful of new role players. The Golden State Warriors added Andre Iguodala. But the team with the best record in the conference is the one that’s kept things the same as they ever were: the San Antonio Spurs.

Every single year is supposed to be the year the Spurs finally fall off. Tim Duncan is supposed to realize he’s almost 38 and stop playing at an All-NBA level. Ditto Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. They’re supposed to eventually stop striking gold with every scrap-heap signing.

It hasn’t happened.

Instead, the Spurs are sitting at 8-1, trailing only the undefeated Indiana Pacers for the best record in the entire league. And they’re playing the awful Utah Jazz (a league-worst 1-8) tonight.

In the early going of the season, the story is the same: other teams have the hype, but there’s no reason to doubt the Spurs as the team most likely to be playing in the Finals.

Here’s what else to watch for tonight:

• The Pacers still have yet to lose a game. They host the thoroughly mediocre Milwaukee Bucks tonight, and it will probably stay that way.

• Derrick Rose is out with a hamstring injury as the Bulls take on the Toronto Raptors. And so it begins.

• The 6-2 Portland Trail Blazers travel to Boston to face the surprisingly competent Celtics, who will try to get back to .500 with a win.

• The Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks meet in a 2011 Finals rematch. This time, the Heat have the upper hand.

• Call it the “Clash of the Plumlees”: the surprising Phoenix Suns take on the struggling Brooklyn Nets.

• The Memphis Grizzlies are off to a horrible start to the season and the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t exactly world-beaters, but a matchup of the Gasol brothers is always fun.

Every single year is supposed to be the year the Spurs finally fall off. We’re still waiting.

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